New York's Soedarmasto, Illinois' Jacobs Win Teen Masters Titles
Friday, 7.3.2015
LAS VEGAS � Brandon Soedarmasto of Levittown, N.Y., and Brigitte Jacobs of Freeport, Ill., captured the boys� and girls� titles in the Teen Masters Championships at South Point Bowling Plaza Friday, each earning $7,500 scholarships.

Soedarmasto and Jacobs also earned berths in the Teen Masters Grand Championship match that will be contested as part of the Professional Bowlers Association�s PBA Challenge Finals during GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev. The finals will be held on Dec. 19 and will air on ESPN in early 2016.

Soedarmasto, 17, took the lead in the second round of qualifying and never looked back, averaging 231.52 for 42 games while winning 13 of his 18 match games for a 10,114 pinfall total, and a 165-pin margin of victory over Trey Brand of Battlefield, Mo. Brand, a 13-year-old two-handed player, also won the boys� 14-and-under title. Pablo Cerda of Sunrise, Fla., finished third with 9,904 pins, 45 behind Brand.

Soedarmasto, in his fifth Teen Masters, said experience in the past four events was a big help.

�The previous years I wasn�t as sharp with my spare game or my mental game, so those were what I worked on the most,� he said. �I wasn�t really watching the scoreboard, but I was watching the players around me when I struggled to see what they were doing. From block to block, I didn�t feel like I was as focused as I needed to be, but when I got the distractions out of my head, I was able to bowl to the best of my ability.�

Brand, who bowled in his first Teen Masters, said he didn�t expect to win at age 13, but �I was expecting to make match play. I�m happy I did as well as I did.�

Jacobs, 17, who trailed Paige Beeney of Salado, Texas, by 181 pins after 24 qualifying games, won 12 of her 18 match games and averaged 207.69 to finish with 9,083 pins, including match play bonus pins, to defeat Beeney by 243 pins in the girls� competition.

�After qualifying, I kept telling myself, you can do it, you can do it, so I just concentrated on making good shots and picking up my spares,� Jacobs, a first-time Teen Masters competitor, said. �I wanted to bowl the tournament because the playing field is level with the bowling balls and conditions, and it went really well.�

The U14 Division girls� winner was 14-year-old Allie Leiendecker of Wooster, Ohio, the only U14 player to qualify for match play on the girls� side.

�I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do,� Leiendecker said. �I practiced a lot on house shots with the bowling balls, but not on the tournament patterns. It worked a lot better than I thought. I did a lot better than I did last year (when she finished third in the U14 division).�

The Teen Masters drew an open-entry field of 160 boys and 76 girls to Las Vegas. All qualifying rounds were conducted on PBA-caliber short- and long-oil lane conditions. In match play, the short-oil pattern was applied to one lane and the long-oil pattern to the other. All players were required to use special PBA Skill Balls 2.0 (polyester) and 3.0 (urethane), emphasizing player skills rather than exotic equipment.

TEEN MASTERS HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas
(Prizes listed are scholarship awards)

Boys� Division
(final standings, after 42 games including match play bonus pins):
1, Brandon Soedarmasto, Levittown, N.Y., 13-5, 10,114, $7,500.
2, Trey Brand, Battlefield, Mo., 13-5, 9,949, $3,750.
3, Pablo Cerda, Sunrise, Fla., 14-3-1, 9,904, $2,000.
4, Michael Martell, Brooklyn, N.Y., 13-5, 9,764, $1,000.
5, Alex Martin, Smyrna, Ga., 13-5, 9,535, $750.
6, Justin Wisler, Davenport, Fla., 12-6, 9,444, $500.
7, Jarek Vincent, Fort Smith, Ark., 8-10, 9,404, $480.
8, Adam Zimmerman, Deer Park, N.Y., 8-9-1, 9,288, $460.
9, Collin Smith, Huron, S.D., 7-10-1, 9,287, $440.
10, Jacob Yoder, Wooster, Ohio, 8-10, 9,181, $420.
11, Donovan Thomas, Longmont, Colo., 9-9, 9,172, $400.
12, Parker Capra, Spring, Texas, 7-11, 9,150, $390.
13, Benjamin Hardin, Tampa, Fla., 8-10, 9,114, $380.
14, Daniel Watkinson, Palm Bay, Fla., 8-10, 9,106, $370.
15, Andrew Guba, Las Vegas, 4-13-1, 9,082, $360.
16, Basil Ng, Singapore, 5-13, 9,000, $350.
17, EJ Baradas, Roseville, Calif., 4-14, 8,967, $340.
18, TJ Rock, Henderson, Nev., 6-12, 8,733, $330.

Girls� Division
(final standings, after 42 games including match play bonus pins):
1, Brigitte Jacobs, Freeport, Ill., 12-6, 9,083, $7,500.
2, Paige Beeney, Salado, Texas, 8-10, 8,840, $3,000.
3, Megan Eaglehouse, Cibolo, Texas, 13-5, 8,723, $1,500.
4, Bryanna Leyen, Perry Hall, Md., 9-9, 8,720, $750.
5, Ashley Dunn, Palmdale, Calif., 12-6, 8,718, $500.
6, Natalie Koprowitz, Girard, Ill., 6-11-1, 8,694, $400.
7, Crystal Elliott, Melbourne, Fla., 11-7, 8,679, $360.
8, Allie Leiendecker, Wooster, Ohio, 9-7-2, 8,677, $340.
9, Krystina Nealon, Coral Springs, Fla., 8-10, 8,654, $320.
10, Samantha Johnson, Apopka, Fla., 6-12, 8,605, $300.
11, Candace Taylor, Dalton, Ohio, 10-8, 8,552, $280.
12, Jenna Williams, Homosassa, Fla., 10-7-1, 8,510, $260.
13, Madison Kasza, OFallon, Ill., 10-8, 8,499, $240.
14, Christie Draper, McKinney, Texas, 7-11, 8,327, $220.
15, Heather Trapp, Chester, Va., 7-11, 8,229, $200.
16, Heather Duncan, Middleburg, Fla., 6-12, 8,198, $180.
17, Mallory Liversedge, Meridian, Idaho, 7-11, 8,074, $160.
18, Jasmine April, Port Orange, Fla., 9-9, 7,858, $140.
 
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